Train and station guide.



No. 784,257. PATENTED MAR. '7, 1905. P. FLANAGAN.

TRAIN AND STATIUN GUIDE. .4:

APPLIOATION FILED MAR.19,1904.

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No. 784,257. PATENTED MAR.7,1905.

P. PLANAGAN.

TRAIN AND STATION GUIDE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB..19,1V904.

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.,IIIHIHIHWHHLu um "Illlllll" UNITED STATES latented March 7, 1905v PATENT OFFICE.

TRAIN AND STATION GUIDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,257, dated March '7, 1905.

Application filed March 19, 1904:. Serial No. 199,036.

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Be it known that I, PATRICK FLANAGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing' in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Train and Station Guides; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to that class of indicators intended for use in railway-stations as a guide to the time of departure of the next train and to the stations at which said train will stop. Y

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and effective guide for the purpose just mentioned, one which is easily operated and is not likely to get out of order.

My invention consists in the novel train and station g'uide which I shall now fully describe by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure l is a front elevation, partly broken, of the guide. Fig. Q is a vertical cross-section of the same. Fig'. 3 is a detail elevation of the hand-setting gear-train. Fig. 4 is a side view of the same. Fig'. 5 is a detail view of the resetting mechanism for the name-bars.

A is a suitable case. Upon the upper pol'- tion of the face of the case is a clock-dial B, over which play the minutev and hour hands C and D, respectively. Below the dial the front of the case is formed with a series of parallel transverse separated slats a, forming openings in which are exposed the bars E, which carry the names of the stations. 'Ihese bars are pivotally mounted to oscillate or rock on their axes in order to expose different faces. On one face of each bar the station-name is delineated, while the adjacent face is left blank, so that when the former face is turned forwardly the name of the station is exposed, as seen in two instances in Fig. 1, and when the latter face is shown no name is shown, the name-face being turned inwardly and concealed. Y

l Above the dial, Fig. 1, is the inscription "The next train leaves at, and a hand is represented in this connection as pointing' to the dial. In like manner above the series of name-bars is an inscription And stops at,

together with a designating-hand. By these inscriptions the use of the guide is made manifest to the inquirer.

The clock-hands are set by the mechanism which I shall now describe.

Mounted in the lower portion of the ease A is a short shaft F, Fig'. 2, on the forward end of which is a key or crank .7" within easy reach of the operator and by which the shaft may be turned on its axis. From the inner end of the shaft suitable power-transmitting' mechanism, such as gears and shafts or an endless belt, is arranged to carry the movement of the key-shaft to the clock-hands. In the present case for illustration I have shown in Fig. 2 a belt G, which passes from a pulley f' on the inner end of the key-shaft F to a pulley c' on the arbor c of the minute-hand C. In order to set the hour-hand D proportionately, there is the usual gear-train, consisting', as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and el, of the pinion ci on the arbor c, the gear /t on a counter-shaft H, which also carries the pinion L, and the gear d on the sleeve l of the hour-hand. Thus by turning the key f below the operator is euabled to set the hands ofthe clock to the time of departure of the next train.

The name-bars E are operated as follows: Each bar is provided with end pivots e, by which it is iournaled and adapted to rock. The case A is best iliade with side chambers a, Fig'. l, and into these the pivot-pins extend. Upon these pins in one chamber fr are secured weights IV, so disposed that their normal tendency is to rock the name-bars to cause them to expose their station-names and to hold them in this position. Each bar E has a catchlip e', Fig. 2. IVth this lip a pivoted gravity-latch I is adapted to engag'e. The relative position of the eatclrlip e on the bar is such that the engagement with the latch I takes place when the bar is rocked to cause it to expose its blank or uninscribed face to view, and in this position it is held by the latch. 'Ihe means for tripping' each latch are as follows: .I is a vertically-movable rod mounted suitably in case A. There is one of these lift-rods for each latch. The upper end of the rod engages the latch, while its lower end, as seen in Fig'. 9., is engaged by the inner end of the pivoted TOO shank It of the push-key K. There is one of these push-keys for each lift-rod, and the shank of the key engages the rod by simply lifting up under it, so that when the key is relieved the rod descends by gravity. By pushing down on one of the keys K the rod .I is lifted to cause the latch I to release the catch-lip e of the bar E, whereupon said bar under the influence of its weight W will rock and present its inscribed or name face to View. The push-keys K are suitably initialed or otherwise inscribed, as seen in Fig. l, each conformably to the name-bar it operates.

The name-bars are reset or rocked back to their blank positions by the following means: Upon their pivot-pins a, on their ends opposite to the weight ends and in the other side chamber a of the case, are crank-arms e2, with which engages a lift-rod L, the engagement being by the contact of collars Z on the rod lifting' up under the arms, so that when the rod descends the collars move down away from the arms, leaving the bars free to be tripped, as heretofore described. The lower end of the liftrod L is connected with the shank m, Fig. 5, of a key M, projecting through the front of the case A in a slot therein, as seen in Fig. l, so that the rod will drop by gravity when released. It will be seen that in all these connections the return movement is by gravity, thus obviating the use of springs, which though they may be employed without departing from my invention are not deemed desirable, as

they are more liable to need attention and rev pairs.

In order to avoid unwarranted interference with the device, I provide a hinged door A, shown open in Fig. l, and which when closed, as shown in Fig. 2, covers all the operatingkeys.

The operation of the guide is as follows: After a train leaves the station attendant opens the door A', as in Fig. 1, thus exposing the keys.. He vthen lifts the key M, thereby, through the lift-rod L,y returning all or such of the name-bars as have been exposed to their blank position. rlhe catch-lips e of the namebars automatically engage the latches I, which latter hold said bars in this blank position. He then by operating key f, the movement of which is transmitted by the belt G, sets the clock-hands C and D to the proper places on the dial B to indicate the time of departure of the next train. Then by operating the proper keys K he releases, through the rods J, the several latches I of those name-bars desired, whereupon the weights of said bars will rock them to turn their names outwardly, so that they will indicate the stations at which the train will stop. In Fig. l the position of the parts indicate that the next train will leave at three oclock and will stop at San Mateo and Palo Alto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, ls-

1. In a train and station guide, the combination of a series of independent triangularshaped name-bars each having a blank face and a face inscribed with a station-name, lips on the bars adjacent one of the apices thereof, a pivot-pin at each end of each bar by which each bar is pivotally mounted, a crank-arm upon one pivot-pin of each bar, a verticallymovable lifting-rod having means engaging said crank-arms for setting the bars to expose their blank faces, a key at the lower end of the rod for lifting it, a series of latches engaging the lips on the bars for holding them withtheir blank faces exposed, a series of vertically-movable lifting-rods one for each latch to independently trip the same, a series of keys below, to independently lift said rods, and weighted arms secured to the other pivotpins of the bars for independently rocking said bars when tripped, to expose their inscribed faces.

2. A train and station guide comprising a frame, a clock-dial in the upper part of the frame, hands movable over'the dial, a key in the lower part of the frame, and mechanism operated by the key for setting the hands, transverse slats on the frame, a series of independent name-bars arranged intermediate the slats and each having a blank face and a face inscribed with a station-name, a pivot-pin at each end of each bar by which the bar is piv-. otally mounted in the frame, a crank-arm upon one pivot-pin of each bar, a verticallymovable lifting-rod having means engaging said crank-arms for setting the bars to expose their blank faces, a key in the lower part of the frame engaging' the rod for lifting it, a series of latches pivoted to the slats for engaging the bars for holding them with their blank faces exposed, a series of verticallymovable lifting-rods, to independently trip the latches, a series of keys in the lower part of the frame to independently lift said rods, and Weighted arms secured to the other pivotpins of the bars for independently rocking said bars when tripped, to expose their inscribed faces.l

3. In a guide, the combination of a series of triangular-shaped name-bars having a blank and an inscribed face, lips projecting' beyond one of the apices of the bars, a pivot-pin at each end of the bar for pivotally supporting the same, projections on the pivot-pins, a vertically-movably lifting-rod, common to all the bars and having means for engaging said projections in its upward movement only, to expose the blank faces, means for operating the rod, a series of latches engaging the lips on the bars for holding them with their blank faces exposed, a series of vertically-movable lifting-rods, one for each latch, to independently trip the same, and transversely-extendlOO ing levers at the lower ends of said liftingrods having operating-keys at their forward extremities. i

e'. In a guide, the combination of a series of naine-bars having' a blank and an inscribed face, a pivot-pin at each end of the bar for pivotally supporting the same, projections on the pivot-pins, a vertically-movable liftingrod, common to all the bars and having means for engaging' said projections in its upward movement only, to expose the blank faces, means for operating the rod, a series of latches engaging' the bars for holding them with their blank faces exposed, a series of verticallymovable lifting-rods, one for each latch, to independently trip the same, transversely-extending lcvers at'the lower ends of said lifting-rods having' operating-keys at their forward extremities, and an inclosing casing for all of said operating devices.

ln witness whereofl l have hereunto set my hand.

PATRICK FLANAGAN. Witnesses:

WALTER F. VANE, D. B. RICHARDS. 

